September 5 ★★★★

Released: 24 January 2025

Director: Tim Fehlbaum

Starring: Peter Skarsgaard, John Magaro

On 5 September during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team were held hostage and ultimately killed in a terrorist attack by terrorist outfit Black September in exchange for the release of Palestinians and non-Arab prisoners held in Israel. Although the crisis has already been the focus of various documentaries and films such as Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated Munich, most tend to follow the perspective of the hostages, enemies or special forces involved. However, the new adaptation by Tides director Tim Fehlbaum, September 5, covers the attack through the eyes of the ABC Sports team, whose live broadcast attracted 900 million viewers.

When the events start to unfold, the intrepid ABC Sports team – led by president Rooney Arledge (Peter Skarsgaard) – quickly scatter to ensure they are covering the siege as they see their proximity to the Olympic Village as their edge over other television stations, one being ABC News, who feel that they are ‘better equipped’ to report the situation. However, the sports team fought for their right to broadcast and in doing so, brought a different and neutral perspective to deliver a more human side to the crisis by focusing on the people rather than the politics to deliver what was a game-changing piece of news.

The cast comprises team members who vary in superiority and experience, ranging from production manager Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin) to assistant Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benesch) the only German-speaking staff member. Yet, their actions highlight their inexperience with how to report a hostage crisis, calling into question their stance on ethical journalism. Their panicked conversations deliver a sense of necessity that comes with informing the public what is going on, but to what extent – Arledge is adamant in following the story while rookie director Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro) questions whether potential scenes of brutality can be shown on live television. Although their questions highlight the team’s trepidation, there is a lingering conflict between responsibility and empathy – all the while, footage of the going yet now-trivial Olympics provides an ignorant but sickening bliss when lives were at stake.

Fehlbaum builds the thrills and anxiety, especially as the team has to contend with local authorities and competing stations (and teams, namely ABC News and CBS) over their broadcast. But the audience ends up like everyone else – in the dark, which adds to the tension and fear of not knowing what’s going on and what will happen next. The shaky and grainy cinematography, along with the authentic production design comprising analogue technology, add an extra layer of visual realism that helps shape September 5 as a compelling period piece.

Due to the film’s focus on the crisis and the need to be ‘on the ball’, the characters occasionally feel closed off as they struggle to keep the personal away from the professional. This results in some uneven performances from Chaplin and Skarsgaard as their characters feel pressure from the higher-ups to keep control. In comparison, Magaro brings a sensitivity to the chaos as he steps up to confidently directing cameras and Benesch’s quietly underestimated Marianne ultimately proves her worth among the male-dominated (and American) team. 

Written by Fehlbaum, Moritz Binder and Alex David, the screenplay retains a compelling intricacy when it comes to directing live coverage – each reel, graphic and instruction is abrupt, snappy and concise while the pacing of the film ensures the narrative’s time sensitivity while looking professional. Despite some lapses in confidence, they end up driven to do something groundbreaking: the first network to broadcast an act of terrorism on live TV.

September 5 is a tense examination into the world of live journalism that plays what is right against what is right now. Despite some uneven performances, Fehlbaum has crafted an elaborate and brilliantly paced thriller that keeps eyes glued to the screen.